CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION

EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION Popular recreation It is important to understand the structure and function of popular recreation as it existed in pre-industrial Britain. Some of these recreations continued in rural society well after industrialisation, and others have been revived today as ethnic festival occasions. The emergence of rational recreation was very much triggered by pupils and staff at upper middle class schools as they converted mob schoolboy sports into a controlled format. This controlled athleticism was seen to be a vehicle for desirable values and a way of life for respectable society. Sport in pre-industrial England The rise of aristocratic and popular sports in England reflected the influence of the Roman conquest on the existing Ancient British Celts and subsequent waves of invaders including the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. By the time of the Norman Conquest, many folk activities existed, but the Norman aristocracy imposed their own activities, which divided sporting pastimes into aristocratic pursuits and folk games. Aristocrats indulged in such pastimes as par force hunting, which combined most of the attributes of the killing of game, while the folk games emerged as religious festivals. These festivals were imposed on older pagan customs and became holy day celebrations and wakes. At this time, violent annual mob games existed in many towns and blood sports remained part of a cruel public ritual. figure 18.1 rural upper class pursuits figure 18.2 hunting as a sport? coursing hunting falconry par-force shooting horse racing GAME LAWS land power WEALTH free-time transport figure 18.3 falconry as an upper class pursuit Many such activities continued until the end of the 19th century. In feudal times, popular sports were only possible with the sanction of the clergy and often the involvement of the landowners. Rural upper class pursuits The rural upper class (figure 18.1) had power, land ownership and wealth which allowed them to engage in activities (figures 18.2 and 18.3) controlled by the game laws as and when they liked without interference from the public. Gradually, aristocratic constraints were relaxed to include an emerging county gentry. Popular recreations The culture of the English lower classes before the late 19th century was linked with social conditions and formed the characteristics of their recreation and pastimes (figure 18.4) in so far as there were any! Popular recreation 113 13

SECTION C CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION Popular recreations They were occasional (figure 18.4) because there was limited free time. They were local because there was limited transport. They were uncoded (figure 18.5) because the peasantry was often illiterate. They were ritualised because of the influence of older pagan and existing church influences. Any recreations of a sporting nature were often in the context of village fêtes or fairs held on holydays. The activities were often violent and cruel, (figure 18.6) because life was hard and harsh at that time. Wagering was a primary feature of life at this time, and wagers would be made on the outcome of any contest. festivals fairs figure 18.4 popular recreations blood sports violent POPULAR RECREATIONS wagering mob games combats rural archery Many of these activities have survived both at an aristocratic and popular level, but many have been either curtailed or reformed. Nor is there the clean separation between the two groups (upper and lower classes) within our present democracy. occasional PEASANTRY local ritual uncoded Among the upper class sports, coursing is pretty-well banned in this country, hunting is now legally restricted and shooting is strictly controlled. figure 18.5 mob football as a lower class pursuit figure 18.6 bull baiting, brutal but exciting figure 18.7 archery as preparation for war? Popular recreations like baiting have long since been made illegal. Festivals are more respectable. Archery (figure 18.7) has changed from military combat practice to a codified target sport. And mob football has only survived in rural areas which escaped the impact of reform. The socio-cultural influences which brought about the evolution of the various pastimes of the middle ages are summarised in figure 18.8. figure 18.8 socio-cultural influences The changes which led to modern versions of existing sports will be explained later with the focus on the mid 19th century development of public school athleticism and rational sport. feudal society limited travel harsh laws local markets SOCIO-CULTURAL INFLUENCES sacred & profane festivals cottage industry illiteracy 11414

EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES Emergence of rational sport as a product of the industrial revolution Changes in society The development of physical education and sport reflected changes in British society. Hence we place social and cultural changes in the context of elitist institutions like the English public schools. The major changes which occurred in society influenced participation in sport today. We will now discuss how society changed during the period over which the industrial revolution occurred, as it influenced development and change in English institutions. The early 19th century marked the beginnings of three social revolutions in England: The agrarian revolution which involved the gradual movement of workers from the countryside to the larger towns. The industrial revolution, which gave increased power to the middle classes, better wages for the industrial working class and greater prosperity for the country at large. The urban revolution, which marked a massive rise in the population, as industrial and commercially well-placed towns grew in size and national significance. STUDENT NOTE The social revolutions in England during the 19th century are discussed on page 144 onwards of AS Revise PE for AQA, ISBN: 978 1 901424 56 0. figure 18.9 characteristics of popular recreation occasional violent ritual occupational POPULAR RECREATION rural local uncodified popular figure 18.10 characteristics of rational recreation Popular and rational recreation These two strands of development towards modern sport had the characteristics identified in figures 18.9 and 18.10. regular regulated national Popular and rational recreation are not totally different. They both involve physical activity, they are both competitive and they are both enjoyable and fulfilling. They both have features of ritual and festival and both have elements to be seen in modern sport. respectable festival RATIONAL RECREATION urban codified universal Table 18.1 the cultural factors which influenced the conversion of popular sports into rational sports popular agrarian feudal limited travel illiterate cottage industry payment in kind limited free-time markets harsh laws church festivals fields and rivers rational industrial and urban emergent middle class railways elementary education factories wages regular free-time and the Saturday half day shopping centres law and policing muscular Christianity - athleticism parks and baths Emergence of rational sport 115 15

SECTION C CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION Nineteenth century public schools and athleticism The characteristics of the 19th century public schools included the facts that they were for the sons of the gentry and they were boarding, fee paying, and non-local establishments. The non-local feature of these schools was very STUDENT NOTE The 19th century public schools are discussed on page 144 onwards of AS Revise PE for AQA, ISBN: 978 1 901424 56 0. important in that the developments that occurred in the schools became spread across the nation. There were also scholars from poorer families and by the 1870s the number of schools had increased to accommodate an emergent middle class. There was a delay before similar selective high schools emerged for upper and middle class girls. By the end of the nineteenth century, there was public or grammar school access for wealthy and bright boys and girls with an active policy of athleticism (goodness, manliness, restraint and discipline), and the size and provision to promote it. Other reforms also occurred, a broader curriculum, reduced flogging and control of school sport by the Sixth Form. The role of ex-public schoolboys in the development of rational sport Activity development We can use examples of different activities to explain how development occurred. The main popular example is of mob football which tended to differ in each school: Eton played a field game and a wall game. Rugby School played a handling game. Harrow and Charterhouse played a so-called dribbling game. Local conditions (the availability of large grassy areas or pitches, and whether or not the areas were bounded by fences or walls) at each school largely determined these differences. When the boys left school for Oxford or Cambridge Universities, they had already established an acceptable combination of the rules in public schools to produce a set of rules which allowed them to play at their university college. From there it was necessary to produce unified rules and a stringent organisation for competitions between university colleges, and finally a set of rules for inter-varsity games and contests, with the reward of blues for representation. figure 18.11 inter-school cricket by 1851 A large number of these boys returned to teach in the public schools after graduation, and spread the new rules to the next generation of schoolboys. Hence inter-school matches (figure 18.11) and competitions were held according to the new unified rules, and the word was spread. The gentleman amateur The university college competition structure and the inter-varsity structures remained an elite development and represented the foundation of the gentleman amateur. When graduates left university, they entered various careers including industry, the church and the army, and they took their amateur sport with them throughout Britain and the Empire. Hence cricket was the first sport to be taken by former Oxbridge students into the British Empire. They initially promoted it amongst themselves, expanded to take in the middle classes in their community, and finally took amateurism to the working classes as a reforming vehicle. Hence it became respectable for the middle and working classes to participate in the new games and sports, since it was what the upper classes spent their time doing! As the schools and society changed to meet the energy and reforming zeal of Victorian England, so the lesser gentry and industrial middle class presumed the right to public boarding school education. They were not allowed into the Clarendon Schools and so they built new schools with extensive sports facilities in attractive spa towns and other wealthy areas. They were linked by the new railway system. 11616

EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES Middle class developments The middle classes were not only wealthy and industrious, they wanted the status previously reserved for the gentry and they felt that the public schools would at least give that to their sons. Meanwhile, with some upper class women gaining access to Oxbridge, these women opened boarding schools for their daughters with a girls high school opening in every major town (figure 18.12). figure 18.12 lacrosse as a girls game For example, a group of university graduates discussed the rules of football. They accepted the divide between the two codes of association and rugby, and established the Governing Bodies of the Football Association (FA) in 1863, and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1870. The notion of the gentleman amateur continued, while several games had acknowledged the place of the professional performer. In cricket and association football, the professional player and club were controlled by middle class administrators, who accepted the code of physical endeavour and moral integrity as the basis of all modern games and sports. Hence the nineteenth century public schools had a major part to play in the development of most modern day sports and games. Some cultural changes, such as working class free time, elementary education and the emancipation of the lower class female, took more time. But the cultural changes were under way, and perhaps sport led the way. The historical development of professional sport Popular recreation is normally centred on the lower classes, with aristocratic or gentry sports co-existing alongside peasant sports. Normally, patronage by the gentry not only determined whether the popular activities and festivals flourished in a community, but it was also why they were allowed to continue well after levels of industrialisation and urbanisation had increased. Figure 18.9 above (page 115) summarises the characteristics of popular sport in Britain before the 18th century. The key factors were: The significance of wagering. The limited free time available to the urban lower class and agricultural labourers. The minimal pay for workers who were on the bread-line. The lack of transport except for the wealthiest classes. As a result, the occasional festival and fair offered the chance to earn money prizes through sporting competition to young people with talent and bravery. If they were good enough, they could increase their income by travelling to different fairs and wakes to compete in combat sports like single stick play and wrestling or running events. In addition to prize money, there was always wagering where you could risk money on backing yourself to win or lose! The prize fighter Prize fighting is chosen as a case study because it involved professional performers by the end of the 18th century. The sport gave the opportunity to win large sums of money, and involved the upper class and the peasantry in a partnership in which high standards were achieved. Pedestrianism followed similar lines, but we confine our discussion to prize fighting as a case study. Prize fighting Prize fighting (figure 18.13) dates back to the 13th century when there were gladiatorial schools, relics of the Roman Conquest, where individuals were prepared to defend themselves and compete in sword and buckle contests. By the time of the Tudors, there were so-called professors of defence, who formed a company called Masters of Defence. This was the cradle of the Noble Art of Self Defence, which came to prominence in the 18th century with James Figg opening the Academy of Boxing in London in 1718. As a Master of Defence one had to be able to defend oneself against all-comers at swordplay, cudgels, quarter staff and grappling. He would also be employed as a tutor to fashionable young dandies and aggressive dualists. figure 18.13 bareknuckle prizefighting Historical development of professional sport 117 17

SECTION C CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION Prize fighting When Jack Broughton (figure 18.14) became champion, he changed the rules of the prize ring to establish pugilism, limiting the contest to bare-knuckle punching and throws. The tradition of teaching the gentry resulted in sparring being developed and mufflers (the precursor of modern boxing gloves) for protection. figure 18.14 Figg and Broughton Wagering in prize fighting With wagering taking place, there was always an element of corruption, and when the Duke of Cumberland lost heavily because Broughton was unexpectedly beaten by Jack Slack, he used his influence to drive the sport underground. From this time, the Fancy had to run the gauntlet of police and magistrates. Right through to the 1830s huge crowds were attracted to major fights and fortunes were won and lost. Excellence There are two separate notions of excellence within these developments: The talented individual (from a peasant background) managed to compete in festivals and win prizes, but this tended to be occasional as work and survival came first. There was a professional elite, whose talent was such that they could earn a good living through challenge events and wagering successfully. Development of elite amateur sport Elite levels of sport evolved because: School and even house teams displayed excellence. Blues were awarded to the best players at Oxbridge, many being outstanding players who played for British teams. The former pupils took amateur games to a level which rivalled the best professionals. Elite sport was organised for gentleman amateur sport initially, but eventually the gentlemen themselves changed the amateur code to allow working class males to compete in organised sports at a high level. Former public schoolboys helped to organise and compete in the early Modern Olympics. The standard of coaching was such that Lyttelton and Foster were playing county cricket for Worcestershire while still at school, with several of their group going on to play for England. As a product of public school graduates, rational sport was initially an exclusive development by the male upper and middle class and is normally described as the Gentleman Amateur period. Oxbridge sportsmen initially took the games to members of their own social group, forming games clubs and sports associations and eventually National and International Governing Bodies. These clubs and organisations were amateur and excluded the people of the lower classes, who only had popular festivals and professional opportunities to participate in sport. The FA was formed by these gentlemen and the early soccer sides (like Sheffield) were all gentlemen. The FA Cup was won by old student clubs or urban gentlemen s clubs. Similarly, the early Athletic Clubs admitted middle class gentlemen who established and developed athletics and gymnastics. Exclusion These middle and upper class gentlemen were the new elite performers and the lower classes and women were excluded, leaving the prize fighters and pedestrians to make a living by competing in front of crowds. Opportunities for the lower classes and all women remained at an occasional festival level. Additionally, the lower classes needed to work for a living, and so had no time for this sort of thing. Democratisation of sport in British society The people running sport at this time promoted the notion that the positive use of free time for the workers would take them out of pubs and allow them to play rational games, which had strong physical and moral values. Hence games and sport became codified and regulated, regular, respectable and rational, and the numbers of people participating expanded rapidly (figure 18.15, note the industrial city centre setting and the large number of spectators). figure 18.15 association football 11818

EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES The Saturday half-day and increasing free time (for factory workers) figure 18.16 cycling in the 1890s increased playing and training opportunities. The emergence of a powerful middle class came about together with a supportive commercial class. The early closing movement was achieved by shop assistants, with a subsequent development of mid-week football leagues. The transport revolution, particularly the growth of the railways from the 1850s, was closely linked with increased wealth and more free time. The turn-pike system improved roads and facilitated travel by carriage and stage for the wealthy. Eventually the bicycle (figure 18.16) allowed organised groups to cycle for sport and pleasure. There was also a second-hand trade in bikes. Omnibuses (buses) influenced the development of suburbia in very large towns. The church supported organised sport which was seen to have moral and health values. This was not only for the middle classes but also for commercial class youth, in the form of the YMCA and YWCA. Benevolent Quaker industrialists, Mechanics Institutes, Working Men s Clubs and Sunday schools promoted improved working class work conditions, recreation and sport (as well as education). The notion of the gentleman amateur continued throughout the nineteenth century in some sports, but Governing Bodies gradually reformed their rules to change the class and gender definition of amateurism to a regulation based on no financial gain. STUDENT NOTE The crucial point concerning this amateur period was the element of purity of the morality of competition with others on an equal basis. This was to be unsullied by payment, wagering or corruption. Therefore participation had to be only by those who could afford to perform without payment, and who were the wealthy members of an upper or middle class in society. The professionals Meanwhile, towards the end of the 19th century, several games had acknowledged the place of the lower class professional performer, especially in cricket and association football. Cricket engaged members of the lower class as groundsmen, but they were also chosen because of their ability as players and often fulfilled the role of coaches for gentry children. With games becoming rationalised and regularised in a society which was increasingly industrial and urban, the standard of play became important as a crowd attraction. figure 18.17 old-boys association football As a result, full-time professionals began to compete with the best amateurs (figure 18.17) and so were increasingly paid according to their talent and crowd appeal. The professionals to date It was not until the 20th century that professionals were able to outplay the best amateurs, and much later that professionalism became attractive to the middle classes in most sports. From the end of the 19th century and up to the 1990s in some sports (examples would be tennis, rugby union and athletics), amateur and professional sports developed separately. The middle classes were administrators, agents and promoters, the working classes were participants, and the upper classes were sponsors or patrons. Examples of the attitude of administrators to performers included: The maximum wage in football ( 8.00 per week in 1950, and only ended in 1961). The definition of amateurism in athletics, which excluded the possibility of earning any money through sport until the 1980s. The exclusion of rugby league (and therefore potentially professional) players from any part in rugby union until the 1990s. Nowadays, the professional performer can emerge into almost any sport (from whatever background). Income from TV, media and sponsorship is sufficient to support professionals in most sports. Although administrators and agents are still middle class, so are most performers, and the attitude towards performers has become more concerned with excellence than relative income. The professionals 119 19

SECTION C CHAPTER 18 DEVELOPMENT and SPREAD of RATIONAL RECREATION Practice questions 1) What were the main characteristics of popular recreations in England before the development of rational sport? Give examples of activities where you can. 4 marks 2) a) Describe the characteristics of popular recreation and discuss the socio-cultural factors which determined them. 8 marks b) Discuss the changes which occurred in 19th century British society and the effect these had on the most popular sports and games by 1900. 10 marks 3) How was the 19th century class system in the UK reflected in the development of cricket? 5 marks 4) The development of rational recreation was very much the result of Britain becoming an industrialised society. a) Using figure18.18, explain the characteristics of an AAA Athletics Meeting. 4 marks figure 18.18 the AAA championships 1870 b) Describe amateurism as it concerned Track and Field Athletics towards the end of the 19th century. 4 marks 5) What do you understand by the terms codified, regulated, and respectable in relation to rational recreation? 6 marks 6) Discuss the changing attitude to sport in the elite 19th century public schools and its effect on the emergence of amateur sport in the UK. 14 marks 7) What influence did non-local admission to the public schools and universities have on the development of rational sport? 6 marks 8) Explain the full expression of athleticism as found in leading public schools towards the end of the 19th century. 6 marks 9) Why were Oxford and Cambridge Universities able to make such an impressive contribution to elite sport in the late 19th century? 6 marks 10) a) Describe and explain the effect that the Industrial Revolution had on sport after 1800. 5 marks b) Explain why these social changes led to the formation of National Governing Bodies. 3 marks c) Describe the role that National Governing Bodies play in the organisation of sport. 4 marks 11) Describe the transition from the traditionally amateur approach to a more professional approach over the last 30 years. 6 marks 120